Antiochus Eupator and Lysias' failed campaign

The new young king Antiochus Eupator and Lysias, the acting regent, prepared a large force and came toward Israel. The corrupted high priest Menelaus was also urging the king, thinking he would gain more power when the king exert more influence. However he fell victim to accusations and was executed - something the author regards as fully justified given his past actions.

Judas prepared his people against the upcoming invasion, not only to prepare militarily, but more importantly from the spiritual aspect. He led his people to repentance, calling on the Lord night and day, petitioning, fasting, prostrating themselves for three days non-stop. His strategy was to conduct a preemptive strike at night, reminding this troops that they were fighting for their laws, temple, city, country, and committed their actions to the Lord.

The king tried a counter-attack the next day but failed. At the same time, the king found that rebellion had erupted, led by Philip who controlled the government while the king was away. With his position uncertain, the king made peace with the Jews and agreed to their autonomy. Lysias also needed to convince people of the unpopular peace treaty which gave governance over to Hegemonides.




2 Maccabees 13 (NRSVCE)
Menelaus Is Put to Death
13 In the one hundred forty-ninth year[a] word came to Judas and his men that Antiochus Eupator was coming with a great army against Judea, 2 and with him Lysias, his guardian, who had charge of the government. Each of them had a Greek force of one hundred ten thousand infantry, five thousand three hundred cavalry, twenty-two elephants, and three hundred chariots armed with scythes.

3 Menelaus also joined them and with utter hypocrisy urged Antiochus on, not for the sake of his country’s welfare, but because he thought that he would be established in office. 4 But the King of kings aroused the anger of Antiochus against the scoundrel; and when Lysias informed him that this man was to blame for all the trouble, he ordered them to take him to Beroea and to put him to death by the method that is customary in that place. 5 For there is a tower there, fifty cubits high, full of ashes, and it has a rim running around it that on all sides inclines precipitously into the ashes. 6 There they all push to destruction anyone guilty of sacrilege or notorious for other crimes. 7 By such a fate it came about that Menelaus the lawbreaker died, without even burial in the earth. 8 And this was eminently just; because he had committed many sins against the altar whose fire and ashes were holy, he met his death in ashes.

A Battle Near the City of Modein
9 The king with barbarous arrogance was coming to show the Jews things far worse than those that had been done[b] in his father’s time. 10 But when Judas heard of this, he ordered the people to call upon the Lord day and night, now if ever to help those who were on the point of being deprived of the law and their country and the holy temple, 11 and not to let the people who had just begun to revive fall into the hands of the blasphemous Gentiles. 12 When they had all joined in the same petition and had implored the merciful Lord with weeping and fasting and lying prostrate for three days without ceasing, Judas exhorted them and ordered them to stand ready.

13 After consulting privately with the elders, he determined to march out and decide the matter by the help of God before the king’s army could enter Judea and get possession of the city. 14 So, committing the decision to the Creator of the world and exhorting his troops to fight bravely to the death for the laws, temple, city, country, and commonwealth, he pitched his camp near Modein. 15 He gave his troops the watchword, “God’s victory,” and with a picked force of the bravest young men, he attacked the king’s pavilion at night and killed as many as two thousand men in the camp. He stabbed[c] the leading elephant and its rider. 16 In the end they filled the camp with terror and confusion and withdrew in triumph. 17 This happened, just as day was dawning, because the Lord’s help protected him.

Antiochus Makes a Treaty with the Jews
18 The king, having had a taste of the daring of the Jews, tried strategy in attacking their positions. 19 He advanced against Beth-zur, a strong fortress of the Jews, was turned back, attacked again,[d] and was defeated. 20 Judas sent in to the garrison whatever was necessary. 21 But Rhodocus, a man from the ranks of the Jews, gave secret information to the enemy; he was sought for, caught, and put in prison. 22 The king negotiated a second time with the people in Beth-zur, gave pledges, received theirs, withdrew, attacked Judas and his men, was defeated; 23 he got word that Philip, who had been left in charge of the government, had revolted in Antioch; he was dismayed, called in the Jews, yielded and swore to observe all their rights, settled with them and offered sacrifice, honored the sanctuary and showed generosity to the holy place. 24 He received Maccabeus, left Hegemonides as governor from Ptolemais to Gerar, 25 and went to Ptolemais. The people of Ptolemais were indignant over the treaty; in fact they were so angry that they wanted to annul its terms.[e] 26 Lysias took the public platform, made the best possible defense, convinced them, appeased them, gained their goodwill, and set out for Antioch. This is how the king’s attack and withdrawal turned out.

Seven brothers and mother stood against Antiochus

One account is told here of a family of seven brothers and their mother being forced to consume unholy pork. This family resisted and the brother who spoke was gruesomely destroyed in front of their families.



2 Maccabees 7 (NRSVCE)
The Martyrdom of Seven Brothers
7 It happened also that seven brothers and their mother were arrested and were being compelled by the king, under torture with whips and thongs, to partake of unlawful swine’s flesh. 2 One of them, acting as their spokesman, said, “What do you intend to ask and learn from us? For we are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.”

3 The king fell into a rage, and gave orders to have pans and caldrons heated. 4 These were heated immediately, and he commanded that the tongue of their spokesman be cut out and that they scalp him and cut off his hands and feet, while the rest of the brothers and the mother looked on. 5 When he was utterly helpless, the king[a] ordered them to take him to the fire, still breathing, and to fry him in a pan. The smoke from the pan spread widely, but the brothers[b] and their mother encouraged one another to die nobly, saying, 6 “The Lord God is watching over us and in truth has compassion on us, as Moses declared in his song that bore witness against the people to their faces, when he said, ‘And he will have compassion on his servants.’”[c]

7 After the first brother had died in this way, they brought forward the second for their sport. They tore off the skin of his head with the hair, and asked him, “Will you eat rather than have your body punished limb by limb?” 8 He replied in the language of his ancestors and said to them, “No.” Therefore he in turn underwent tortures as the first brother had done. 9 And when he was at his last breath, he said, “You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws.”

10 After him, the third was the victim of their sport. When it was demanded, he quickly put out his tongue and courageously stretched forth his hands, 11 and said nobly, “I got these from Heaven, and because of his laws I disdain them, and from him I hope to get them back again.” 12 As a result the king himself and those with him were astonished at the young man’s spirit, for he regarded his sufferings as nothing.

13 After he too had died, they maltreated and tortured the fourth in the same way. 14 When he was near death, he said, “One cannot but choose to die at the hands of mortals and to cherish the hope God gives of being raised again by him. But for you there will be no resurrection to life!”

15 Next they brought forward the fifth and maltreated him. 16 But he looked at the king,[d] and said, “Because you have authority among mortals, though you also are mortal, you do what you please. But do not think that God has forsaken our people. 17 Keep on, and see how his mighty power will torture you and your descendants!”

18 After him they brought forward the sixth. And when he was about to die, he said, “Do not deceive yourself in vain. For we are suffering these things on our own account, because of our sins against our own God. Therefore[e] astounding things have happened. 19 But do not think that you will go unpunished for having tried to fight against God!”

20 The mother was especially admirable and worthy of honorable memory. Although she saw her seven sons perish within a single day, she bore it with good courage because of her hope in the Lord. 21 She encouraged each of them in the language of their ancestors. Filled with a noble spirit, she reinforced her woman’s reasoning with a man’s courage, and said to them, 22 “I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of you. 23 Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of humankind and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws.”

24 Antiochus felt that he was being treated with contempt, and he was suspicious of her reproachful tone. The youngest brother being still alive, Antiochus[f] not only appealed to him in words, but promised with oaths that he would make him rich and enviable if he would turn from the ways of his ancestors, and that he would take him for his Friend and entrust him with public affairs. 25 Since the young man would not listen to him at all, the king called the mother to him and urged her to advise the youth to save himself. 26 After much urging on his part, she undertook to persuade her son. 27 But, leaning close to him, she spoke in their native language as follows, deriding the cruel tyrant: “My son, have pity on me. I carried you nine months in my womb, and nursed you for three years, and have reared you and brought you up to this point in your life, and have taken care of you.[g] 28 I beg you, my child, to look at the heaven and the earth and see everything that is in them, and recognize that God did not make them out of things that existed.[h] And in the same way the human race came into being. 29 Do not fear this butcher, but prove worthy of your brothers. Accept death, so that in God’s mercy I may get you back again along with your brothers.”

30 While she was still speaking, the young man said, “What are you[i] waiting for? I will not obey the king’s command, but I obey the command of the law that was given to our ancestors through Moses. 31 But you,[j] who have contrived all sorts of evil against the Hebrews, will certainly not escape the hands of God. 32 For we are suffering because of our own sins. 33 And if our living Lord is angry for a little while, to rebuke and discipline us, he will again be reconciled with his own servants.[k] 34 But you, unholy wretch, you most defiled of all mortals, do not be elated in vain and puffed up by uncertain hopes, when you raise your hand against the children of heaven. 35 You have not yet escaped the judgment of the almighty, all-seeing God. 36 For our brothers after enduring a brief suffering have drunk[l] of ever-flowing life, under God’s covenant; but you, by the judgment of God, will receive just punishment for your arrogance. 37 I, like my brothers, give up body and life for the laws of our ancestors, appealing to God to show mercy soon to our nation and by trials and plagues to make you confess that he alone is God, 38 and through me and my brothers to bring to an end the wrath of the Almighty that has justly fallen on our whole nation.”

39 The king fell into a rage, and handled him worse than the others, being exasperated at his scorn. 40 So he died in his integrity, putting his whole trust in the Lord.

41 Last of all, the mother died, after her sons.

42 Let this be enough, then, about the eating of sacrifices and the extreme tortures.

If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them

John 13:17
If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

When we are given revelations by the Holy Spirit, we are expected to act on them. Obeying is an active pursuit rather than a set of laws about "Do nots". In prayer and in communion with God, He will reveal that things that we ought to do. The motivation may sometimes elude us and can only be understood by God. However, to those who obey and carry out the tasks, they will be blessed by God in return.

Incline Your Ears to the Words of My Mouth

The first paragraph is as if God is speaking. Interesting to note that God says He will speak in parables to reveal wisdom to the people. This was exactly how Jesus preached to His people.

The second paragraph speaks of God in the third person, revealing His relationship to His people from the line of Jacob. God was made known to their children and they are regularly encouraged to keep the commandments and not be rebellious.

The psalm narrates the history of the Exodus, in particular the marvelous and wondrous provision of God as they ventured to the Promised Land. It details the miracles of the provision of food and water as well as God's presence as a cloud by day and fire by night to guide them. Yet they rebelled against God and were punished on several occasions.

In times of their punishment, they remembered God as their Rock and Redeemer. But they constantly turned again to provoke God and not remember the miracles in Egypt which forced Pharaoh to let them free. God also worked miracles in defeating all the armies of the Promised Land so the Israel can settle there. Yet they provoked God by worshipping idols and pagan gods.

Finally it describes God in His sovereign will chose from Judah, His servant David. David was taken from being a Shepperd of sheep to be the Shepperd of Israel, with integrity in his heart.


Psalm 78
A Contemplation[a] of Asaph.
 1 Give ear, O my people, to my law;
         Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
 2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
         I will utter dark sayings of old,
 3 Which we have heard and known,
         And our fathers have told us.
 4 We will not hide them from their children,
         Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
         And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
        
 5 For He established a testimony in Jacob,
         And appointed a law in Israel,
         Which He commanded our fathers,
         That they should make them known to their children;
 6 That the generation to come might know them,
         The children who would be born,
         That they may arise and declare them to their children,
 7 That they may set their hope in God,
         And not forget the works of God,
         But keep His commandments;
 8 And may not be like their fathers,
         A stubborn and rebellious generation,
         A generation that did not set its heart aright,
         And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
        
 9 The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,
         Turned back in the day of battle.
 10 They did not keep the covenant of God;
         They refused to walk in His law,
 11 And forgot His works
         And His wonders that He had shown them.
        
 12 Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers,
         In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
 13 He divided the sea and caused them to pass through;
         And He made the waters stand up like a heap.
 14 In the daytime also He led them with the cloud,
         And all the night with a light of fire.
 15 He split the rocks in the wilderness,
         And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
 16 He also brought streams out of the rock,
         And caused waters to run down like rivers.
        
 17 But they sinned even more against Him
         By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
 18 And they tested God in their heart
         By asking for the food of their fancy.
 19 Yes, they spoke against God:
         They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
 20 Behold, He struck the rock,
         So that the waters gushed out,
         And the streams overflowed.
         Can He give bread also?
         Can He provide meat for His people?”
        
 21 Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious;
         So a fire was kindled against Jacob,
         And anger also came up against Israel,
 22 Because they did not believe in God,
         And did not trust in His salvation.
 23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above,
         And opened the doors of heaven,
 24 Had rained down manna on them to eat,
         And given them of the bread of heaven.
 25 Men ate angels’ food;
         He sent them food to the full.
        
 26 He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens;
         And by His power He brought in the south wind.
 27 He also rained meat on them like the dust,
         Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
 28 And He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
         All around their dwellings.
 29 So they ate and were well filled,
         For He gave them their own desire.
 30 They were not deprived of their craving;
         But while their food was still in their mouths,
 31 The wrath of God came against them,
         And slew the stoutest of them,
         And struck down the choice men of Israel.
        
 32 In spite of this they still sinned,
         And did not believe in His wondrous works.
 33 Therefore their days He consumed in futility,
         And their years in fear.
        
 34 When He slew them, then they sought Him;
         And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
 35 Then they remembered that God was their rock,
         And the Most High God their Redeemer.
 36 Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth,
         And they lied to Him with their tongue;
 37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
         Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
 38 But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity,
         And did not destroy them.
         Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,
         And did not stir up all His wrath;
 39 For He remembered that they were but flesh,
         A breath that passes away and does not come again.
        
 40 How often they provoked Him in the wilderness,
         And grieved Him in the desert!
 41 Yes, again and again they tempted God,
         And limited the Holy One of Israel.
 42 They did not remember His power:
         The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
 43 When He worked His signs in Egypt,
         And His wonders in the field of Zoan;
 44 Turned their rivers into blood,
         And their streams, that they could not drink.
 45 He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them,
         And frogs, which destroyed them.
 46 He also gave their crops to the caterpillar,
         And their labor to the locust.
 47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
         And their sycamore trees with frost.
 48 He also gave up their cattle to the hail,
         And their flocks to fiery lightning.
 49 He cast on them the fierceness of His anger,
         Wrath, indignation, and trouble,
         By sending angels of destruction among them.
 50 He made a path for His anger;
         He did not spare their soul from death,
         But gave their life over to the plague,
 51 And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt,
         The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
 52 But He made His own people go forth like sheep,
         And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
 53 And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear;
         But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
 54 And He brought them to His holy border,
         This mountain which His right hand had acquired.
 55 He also drove out the nations before them,
         Allotted them an inheritance by survey,
         And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
        
 56 Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
         And did not keep His testimonies,
 57 But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
         They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
 58 For they provoked Him to anger with their high places,
         And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
 59 When God heard this, He was furious,
         And greatly abhorred Israel,
 60 So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
         The tent He had placed among men,
 61 And delivered His strength into captivity,
         And His glory into the enemy’s hand.
 62 He also gave His people over to the sword,
         And was furious with His inheritance.
 63 The fire consumed their young men,
         And their maidens were not given in marriage.
 64 Their priests fell by the sword,
         And their widows made no lamentation.
        
 65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
         Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
 66 And He beat back His enemies;
         He put them to a perpetual reproach.
        
 67 Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph,
         And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
 68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
         Mount Zion which He loved.
 69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights,
         Like the earth which He has established forever.
 70 He also chose David His servant,
         And took him from the sheepfolds;
 71 From following the ewes that had young He brought him,
         To shepherd Jacob His people,
         And Israel His inheritance.
 72 So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
         And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.